@Ute42 Because they are guest-centric and guests would complain if their reviews were removed, even if they were full of lies.
Also, how does Airbnb really know if the guest was lying? Well, if the host has 100 reviews saying the place was uber clean, and an outlier saying it was filthy, that's a pretty easy call.
But what if a host only has 4 reviews? Maybe the host had a new cleaner who did a lousy job, or, unbeknowst to the host, didn't even show up to clean. How does Airbnb draw the line? One outlier review in 100? In 4?
I've certainly read reviews on listings that have pages of reviews that have me scratching my head. Like half the reviews will say it was super clean and the other half say it wasn't clean. Or that the host was great, really responsive, and others that say the host never answered their messages. What goes on there? Are the bad ones all revenge reviews, or is the host inconsistent?
Something needs to be done about the retaliatory review issue, I'm just not sure what or how. Maybe a guest who has been asked to pay for damages or kicked out for throwing a party shouldn't be allowed to leave ratings, which is the bigger issue. They could still be allowed a written review, because the host can respond to that, whereas hosts can do nothing about that vile 1*.